LOUISVILLE, KY (August 24, 2020) – Valhalla Golf Club showed its major championship prowess to open the Kentucky PGA Professional Championship on Monday. The Jack Nicklaus designed layout played to an average of 80.46 (+8.46) in the first round, offering a challenging but fair test to begin the Section Championship. Emerging late in the day to put himself on top of the leaderboard was Grover Justice, PGA Director of Instruction at High Performance Golf Academy. Justice made the turn in 37 (+1), but five birdies on the inward nine to finish with 31 (-5) gave him a final score of 68 (-4), which leads by three strokes.

“I hit it pretty well all day,” Justice said. “I had a few lip-outs on the front nine that hurt, but I knocked it close on the back a few times and managed to make those putts. I’m a late-comer in the Section, so I’ve only played this tournament several times before, but it would mean a lot to win tomorrow. There are a lot of great players here and it’s always an honor to win against your fellow Section Members.”

Behind Justice, Keith Ohr, PGA Head Professional at Lake Forest Country Club was the only other player to break par on Monday. The 2013 and 2015 Section champ shot 71 (-1) to hold second place, while Mitchell Moore, PGA Director of Instruction at Hopkinsville Golf & Country Club rounds out the list of players who did not shoot over par after his round of 72 (E). The three of them comprise Tuesday’s final group, which will tee off at 11:00 a.m. EDT on Tuesday morning.

NOTES & STATS

• Not surprisingly, the hardest hole of the day from a stroke-to-par average perspective was the par-four 6^th. It played +1.21, but two birdies were made on it courtesy of Nathan Wolfe (T5) and Robert Costello (T28).
• The easiest hole of the day was the famous par-five 18^th playing at -0.33. Seventeen total birdies were made on it.

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Golf House Kentucky will continue to have full coverage of the event on its Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages. A live video will be available to view on Facebook when the final group reaches its last hole tomorrow afternoon. Another live video will become available if a playoff is needed to determine a champion. (NOTE: If the Clark’s Pump-N-Shop Kentucky Mid-Amateur finishes at the same time and could overlap the finish of the Section Championship, the conclusion of the Section Championship will be streamed on Twitter instead.)  Please remember that caddies and spectators remain prohibited throughout the competition.